Promoted but not mustered?

[CWdiaryPA]

Hello! I hope this is the right place to post this.

My ancestor (PA 110th) got promoted, or "commissioned" Captain on 8/9/62; however, his record reads right after that, "not mustered". (He had been with his hometown Reg't, but had to go back home on a pass due to chest pains.)

Does that mean that in his absence, he was made Captain? Anyone have any idea why he was commissioned Captain in his absence? Maybe to try to get him to come back to the war? I assume a soldier can be promoted or commissioned when he's not actually present? It appears from the records I have that he never returned to the war after being made Captain. Or at least offered the position.

One last Q: is the Captain level pretty important in the scheme of things? I know it's higher than the positions below it, but still unsure how common such a title is in a Reg't. If that makes sense.

I am using "promoted" and "commissioned" interchangeably, which is maybe not accurate. Thank you. I appreciate your time and knowledge.

 

[Taylin]

Might add the name of your ancestor and company - I can't help with this specific question but maybe knowing who it is might help others assist

 

[67th Tigers]

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[Saphroneth]

One last Q: is the Captain level pretty important in the scheme of things? I know it's higher than the positions below it, but still unsure how common such a title is in a Reg't. If that makes sense.

The captain rank was a company commander, which meant that by regulation he would be in command of about one tenth of the regiment - about 100 men. It was the highest officer rank which was not either directly regimental or above that.

The 110th PA had been fighting for a year by the date of his promotion, but it looks like they got off fairly lightly in casualty terms (200 men over the entire four years they were in the war), so the companies would still be quite close to regulation. A Captain would thus on average command 80-90 men.

8/9/1862 is the day of the Battle of Cedar Mountain, which the 110th PA took part in. However, the records in the ORs for the casualties in that battle list no officers in that regiment becoming casualties in that battle, so there's no "slot" that would have opened up for him to be promoted into unless a few other officers "moved up" as a result of the one officer from the brigade staff who was wounded.


To be commissioned to an officer position is to actually be promoted to that position, not merely offered it; however, the fact that he left immediately afterwards makes me wonder whether it was a kind of "courtesy promotion" for someone who was already about to be invalided out for his chest problems.

That's the best I can do as it stands, I think.

 

[johan_steele]

In simplest terms a Captain of the Infantry was typically one of three officers in a company. The Captain was in command of said company.

Being promoted in absentia was not all that uncommon. Men might be in hospital, on furlough or on detached duty when paperwork caught up to the Regiment.

 

[CWdiaryPA]

The captain rank was a company commander, which meant that by regulation he would be in command of about one tenth of the regiment - about 100 men. It was the highest officer rank which was not either directly regimental or above that.

The 110th PA had been fighting for a year by the date of his promotion, but it looks like they got off fairly lightly in casualty terms (200 men over the entire four years they were in the war), so the companies would still be quite close to regulation. A Captain would thus on average command 80-90 men.

8/9/1862 is the day of the Battle of Cedar Mountain, which the 110th PA took part in. However, the records in the ORs for the casualties in that battle list no officers in that regiment becoming casualties in that battle, so there's no "slot" that would have opened up for him to be promoted into unless a few other officers "moved up" as a result of the one officer from the brigade staff who was wounded.


To be commissioned to an officer position is to actually be promoted to that position, not merely offered it; however, the fact that he left immediately afterwards makes me wonder whether it was a kind of "courtesy promotion" for someone who was already about to be invalided out for his chest problems.

That's the best I can do as it stands, I think.

Thanks so much. Wow, that's a lot of men to be in charge of. I guess he did well by them. Good for him.

He left the war June 14, 1862, for good, as far as I know, hence the confusion about the Captain commission. I think this may be a case of courtesy promotion.... for a man already gone seven weeks. Strange. I'll keep digging. He didn't write at all about holding a gun and shooting. I think he was more on the outskirts of battle, though he did write he saw men killed in front of him.... he was a Medic, and dealt with hospital supplies, etc. Thanks again

 

[CWdiaryPA]

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Hi, poster. Did you mean to post something?

 

[CWdiaryPA]

In simplest terms a Captain of the Infantry was typically one of three officers in a company. The Captain was in command of said company.

Being promoted in absentia was not all that uncommon. Men might be in hospital, on furlough or on detached duty when paperwork caught up to the Regiment.

Okay, thank you. That makes sense. I have not run across a great deal-- or even really *any* info. in my research regarding rank and the way they typically did promotions in the North.

 

[Saphroneth]

I think he was more on the outskirts of battle, though he did write he saw men killed in front of him.... he was a Medic, and dealt with hospital supplies, etc.

Okay, in that case it does sound like a courtesy promotion to me. To the best of my knowledge medics did not tend to get folded into the conventional command track.

 

[CWdiaryPA]

Okay, in that case it does sound like a courtesy promotion to me. To the best of my knowledge medics did not tend to get folded into the conventional command track.

Ok, that makes sense. On top of chest pains, he was 32, 2 kids, a wife, and owned his own farm. I think all that made him not return after his week or so leave. I think they may have been trying to get him back. Thanks very much.